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SOUTH AFRICA AMENDS THE REQUIREMENTS FOR MINORS TRAVELING TO THE COUNTRY
On 8 November 2019, the South African Ministry of Home Affairs amended the requirements for the entry of foreign minors.
From now on, if foreign minors travelling to South Africa travel with both parents, with one of their parents or with a person who is of legal age, they only have to carry a valid passport.
You can read the official statement here: statement. For more information, please contact the South African Embassy. |
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2024 National Elections Vote Out-of-Country information for 18 May 2024 |
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2024 Voting Registration information for 27-28 January 2024 |
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THE SOUTH AFRICAN EMBASSY IN MADRID HOSTED A SUCCESSFUL EVENT ON 17 OCTOBER 2022 |
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The South African Embassy in Madrid held an event on 17 October 2022 aimed at celebrating the 28th Anniversary of South Africa’s freedom and of the recognition of its cultural diversity. The event took place at the Official Residence, where around 140 guests attended; including members of the Diplomatic Corps, as well as significant role players from the Spanish business, education and civil society sectors, as well as South Africans based in Spain. The aim was to deepen bilateral cooperation in all fields and to, especially, showcase South African culture, promoting deeper people-to-people relations between the two countries. Apart from the official speeches and national anthems, the ceremony also featured a performance by South African choir Quava.
During her speech, the Head of Mission, Ambassador Sankie Mthembi-Mahanyele underscored the importance of South Africa’s freedom and cultural diversity and thanked the invitees for all the support that they had given the Mission in the past, in the hope that they would continue to work closely with the Embassy in the future. She also encouraged those present to explore ways to deepen the political and economic relations between the two countries and highlighted the potential for consolidation of cooperation between South Africa and Spain in other fields.
The Director General for Africa in Spain’s Ministry for Foreign Affairs; Alicia Rico; attended the event and delivered a speech in which she highlighted the close relations that have existed between Spain and South Africa since the first democratic elections in 1994. The speeches were followed by the choir’s performance and a cocktail.
Pictures from the event below: |
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| Ambassador Sankie Mthembi-Mahanyele; Mr. Martin Malan (Counsellor), and; Col. Make (Defence Attaché) |
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| The DG for Africa in Spain’s Ministry for Foreign Affairs; Alicia Rico, delivering her speech |
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| The Quava Choir during their performance at the event |
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| Ms. Makwatse Mokgethi, First Secretary Political, and Ms. Ole Khoza, First Secretary Administration, with some members of the Quava choir |
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| Bilateral Consultations between South Africa and Spain,01 July 2022, Madrid. |
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This year’s Annual Bilateral Consultations between South Africa and Spain were held in an in-person format on 01 July 2021 in Madrid and co-presided over by South Africa’s Deputy Minister of International Relations and Co-operation, Hon Alvin Botes, and his Spanish counterpart, the Secretary of State/Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs and Global Issues, Ms. Ángeles Moreno Bau. Coinciding with the visit of Deputy Minister Botes; the South African Embassy in partnership with the Spanish Confederation of Employers and Industries of Spain (CEOE) organized a hybrid seminar on trade and investment between Spain and South Africa on 30 June. The CEOE is an organization of public and private businesses from all sectors in Spain and brings together about 4,000 base associations and 200 territorial and sectoral organizations. The event consisted of two main panels: one on trade and investment opportunities between South Africa and Spain, and; one on potential business partnerships between youth in South Africa and Spain, since the event coincided with Youth Month in South Africa. The Deputy Minister for International Relations and Cooperation, the Hon. Alvin Botes delivered the key-note speech during the closing session of the event. In his remarks, Deputy Minister Botes encouraged Spanish companies to invest in South Africa and also spoke about the importance of developing initiatives to empower youth in South Africa. The event was attended by a large group of entrepreneurs; representing both large Spanish companies and SMEs interested in pursuing business opportunities in South Africa; as well as diplomats, students from the IE Business School, and, representatives from other institutions. |
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University of Comillas in Madrid, Spain
On 09 February 2022, Ambassador Thenjiwe Mtintso was invited to be the keynote speaker at a Round Table event on the theme: "Africa: An emerging continent: expectations and reality" organized by the University of Comillas. The event was held within the context of the upcoming 6th EU-AU Summit that will be held from 17 to 18 February 2022. The Ambassador’s presentation and that of the academics that participated in the subsequent discussion focused on the need for Africa to pursue ‘African solutions to African problems’, as an essential ingredient for the progress of the continent, and, on the need to leave behind stereotypes concerning Africa. The Comillas University is a private Catholic university located in Madrid. It is one of the top private universities in Spain. It is ranked #601 in the QS Global World Rankings 2022.”
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DIPLOMATIC ACADEMY
On 26 March, Ambassador Thenjiwe Mtintso handed over a Bafana Bafana T-shirt to Mr. Santiago Velo de Antelo, President of the Diplomatic Academy of the Kingdom of Spain. The Academy has created a Football for Peace Exhibition which will visit several regions of Spain and other countries. The Exhibition contains T-shirts from all the national football teams in the world. Ambassador Mtintso also met with Mr. Marcos Pellegrin, Director of LaLiga in South Africa, who handed over the official ball being used by Spain’s Premier League this season.
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| Mr. Pellegrin explained all the projects that the organization is implementing in South Africa to promote social integration, culture and sports development as well as to promote Spain’s Premier League in South Africa. Mr. Martin Malan, the Embassy’s new Counsellor (Political) was also in attendance. |
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| IBTM WORLD 2019 |
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THE SOUTH AFRICAN EMBASSY IN MADRID HOSTED A SUCCESSFUL EVENT ON 14 OCTOBER 2019
The South African Embassy in Madrid held an event on 14 October 2019 aimed at celebrating the 25th Anniversary of South Africa’s freedom and of the recognition of its cultural diversity. The event took place at the InterContinental Hotel, where around 160 guests attended; including members of the Diplomatic Corps, as well as significant role players from the Spanish business, education, civil society, and tourism sectors, as well as South Africans based in Spain. The aim was to deepen bilateral cooperation in all fields and to, especially, showcase South African culture, promoting deeper people-to-people relations between the two countries. Apart from the official speeches and national anthems, the ceremony also featured poetry performances by renowned South African poets Lebo Mashile and Koleka Putuma as well musical and dance performances by several South African artists based in Spain.
During her speech, the Head of Mission, Ambassador Thenjiwe Mtintso, underscored the importance of South Africa’s freedom and cultural diversity and thanked the invitees for all the support that they had given the Mission in the past, in the hope that they would continue to work closely with the Embassy in the future. She also encouraged those present to explore ways to deepen the political and economic relations between the two countries and highlighted the potential for consolidation of cooperation between South Africa and Spain in other fields.
The acting Director General for Africa in Spain’s Ministry for Foreign Affairs, the European Union and Cooperation; Raimundo Robledo Rubio; attended the event and delivered a speech in which he highlighted the close relations that have existed between Spain and South Africa since the first democratic elections in 1994. After his speech, Mr. Robledo offered a toast in honour of South Africa. The speeches were followed by the cultural performances and the gala dinner.
The event was organized in partnership with two Spanish companies with interests in South Africa; Echalar Fishing Company and SENER; and with the support of Mr. André van der Mescht, the Chairperson of Amigos de Sudáfrica, the association created by South Africans living in Spain.
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| Mission will extended the dates for the Mission to remain closed from 27 March to 14 April 2020 in line with the measures that were adopted by the Spanish Government to contain the spread of coronavirus in the country. |
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| FITUR 2020 |
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The FITUR Tourism Trade Fair was held in Madrid from 22 January to 26 January 2020 and coincided with the African Investment and Tourism Business Forum, organized by the United Nations World Tourism Organisation on 23 January. During FITUR, an official South African Tourism stand showcased South Africa as a tourism destination of choice. The South African Deputy Minister of Tourism; Hon. Fish Amos Mahlalela, accompanied by an extensive delegation from the Department of Tourism, the Investment Development Corporation; as well as two delegations from Kwa-Zulu Natal held meetings at FITUR and also participated in the events.
South African Tourism’s 126 m2 stand at this year’s edition of the Fair was located in a prominent position within the pavilion and was jointly managed by South African Tourism and the South African Mission in Madrid. 10 South African companies were present on the stand and there was a main information counter. The ten South African companies were: Akilanga DMC & Events, Thompsons Africa; De Zeekoe Guest Farm; 3Sixty Luxury Marketing (representing Sun International, Mala Mala Game Reserve and Wilderness Safaris); Tourvest DMC; Catalina Tours; Amazing Africa; Africa Incoming; Makakatana Bay Lodge/Leopard Mountain Lodge; and, ATES Africa.
The participation of official delegations from South Africa in FITUR and in the events surrounding the Fair enhanced the bilateral relations between South Africa and Spain in the area of tourism and created opportunities for business exchange between the two countries as well as investment in South Africa’s tourism infrastructure sector. Meanwhile, South African Tourism’s participation in FITUR contributed towards the promotion of South Africa internationally and in Spain. |
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| SOUTH AFRICAN TOURISM'S STAND AT FITUR 2020 |
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Deputy Minister Mahlalela with South Africa’s Ambassador to the Kingdom of Spain, Ambassador Thenjiwe Mtintso, arriving for FITUR 2020 in Madrid, Spain |
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Deputy Minister Mahlalela with Spain’s Deputy Minister for Tourism, Ms. Isabel Mario Oliver |
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Deputy Minister Mahlalela with Venezuela Minister of Tourism Mr. Felix Plasencia |
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| Ambassador Smuts Ngonyama presented his letters of credence on 11 March 2015 before Spanish King Felipe VI as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of South Africa to the Kingdom of Spain. During their meeting, the King expressed Spain’s affinity (and that of his family) towards South Africa. He underscored the strategic importance of South Africa to Spain and that the country viewed South Africa as a “perfect gateway to the Sub-Saharan Africa”. They further underscored the need for South Africa and Spain to deepen their collaboration in the multilateral institutions. |
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